Letter of the Day (Dec. 11): E-cigarettes

December 10, 2013 - 5:47 PM

I would like to address the misconceptions raised in a Dec. 10 commentary (“E-cigarettes: Next best thing to quitting”). I will introduce legislation not to ban e-cigarettes but simply to add their use to the regulations of the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act, landmark legislation passed in 1975. This would bring greater consistency to regulations for a product facing growing scrutiny from the medical community and public-health advocates and end the patchwork system of local governments and even private industries setting their own paths.

It should be noted that the federal Food and Drug Administration has not affirmed the safety of the use of e-cigarettes nor even approved them as a smoking-cessation device.